On Fri, 15 Feb 2002 14:51:01 -0500 (EST) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Fri, 15 Feb 2002, Hoyt wrote: > > > http://www.linuxjournal.com//article.php?sid=5818 > > > > > > A good reason to look at a "lightweight" Mandrake? > > > Interesting article, but I'm not sure I agree with everything in it. > > Some of the points that I thought interesting were: > > minimized kernel -- Some facility like FreeBSDs automated kernel rebuild > on install could be useful here. The other option, which most distros do > anyway, is to choose a pre-compiled kernel to install. My default > Mandrake modules directory is about ~14M. Since most of these are loaded > as modules there is probably little effect on the runtime size if it was > configured differently.
I agree why couldn't the installer (since it does probe HW already) NOT install modules not used... > > iptables without server services -- The default config seems to already > support NAT with everything else denied -- but then I haven't > re-installed my firewall in ages.. > > TinyX instead of X11 -- I think it's a misconception that X iteself is > the culprit. X is large, but most of the perceived bloat is from the wm > itself. > > He also mentions things like statically linking konqueror and other > applications in the belief that it would save memory. This is an odd > statement, because unless there's *no* duplication of calls, this would > increase memory usage. True the savings isn't in RAM but it can be in disk space. Konq without the rest of KDE is a lot smaller than Netscape/Mozilla/Galeon-Mozilla or Konq with KDE. Kong static + iceWM would be killer on a low end Pentium > > The main difficult I have with this is the target platform that he > thinks is appropriate for "schools, families, developing countries, > public and private offices with almost null budget". In Jamaica, Guyana, > and parts of the Caribbean the basic machines are often Pentium class or > better. This may seem difficult for some to believe, but a huge market > for out-of-date (in the US) machines exists and Pentiums are now several > generations gone. I'm not certain that countries where people are > stressing because their children's tummies are getting bloated because > they have no food will care about providing Internet access. True, so does this justify cutting them off? Education pays off in the fact that it enables a people to feed themselves. A 386 notebook that can read e-text booooks would save oodles of dollars in text book costs for the average family, and book costs are often the greatest strain on a poor families/countries budget when it comes to education of it's future. > > That leaves us with schools and public/private offices. The question > here is whether or not it's financially sound to invest time/resources > (not money) in getting the target system to work. Is it worth it. Yes, The benifits will not only be for them but for us as well. I mean which comp does more, an Apple II or an Athlon 1800XP with Mandrake 8.1. The Mdrake box... which one allows you to be productive sooner .... the apple II (two seconds to boot) > > I think the idea is well intentioned, and the concepts are useful in > paring down existing software, but I question the market for such a > distribution. The market although not on the desktop would be in low power (electrically and mhz) devices. A one pound notebook with 16 megs ram and a 64 meg CF card comes to mind. > > Thanks for pointing out the article. I'll agree with that *grin* > > >
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